Politics; Brookfield Criticizes the Platt-Tammany Deal

Brookfield Criticizes the Platt-Tammany Deal.

Washington, D.C., July 1 — The lobbies of the Arlington Hotel were crowded this morning with Republican statesmen from New York.

Ex-Mayor Strong, William Brookfield, Senator Higgins, Mr. Blanchard of the New York Republican Club, Michael J. Dady and Congressman Hurley of Brooklyn were among the number present.

Most of the New York City Republicans came over last night for the purpose of presenting on behalf of the American tariff league a handsome set of resolutions to Cornelius N. Bliss, the Secretary of the Interior.

The disgust, [spell: dep, deep] and painful to witness, was noticeable whenever William Brookfield or the independents referred to the appointment of Henry E. Abell as police commissioner. Brookfield said:

"Of course Abell is a Platt man. He is an organization Republican and so is Jake Hess. Now, the first thing these organization Republicans do is to vote to make Devery New York police commissioner and then do this at a time when other Republicans are calling upon Governor Black to save them from the corrupting influence of Tammany Hall and call an extra session of the Legislature for the one purpose of passing a new election law. I do not profess to be in the secrets of Senator Platt and his friends, but I must say that the action of these, our Republican police commissioners, in voting for Devrey has, to my mind, rendered useless any new election law. It is the police that prevent colonizing and the police Department, by the votes of the two Republican commissioners, is now absolutely in control of Tammany Hall.

Michael J. Dady and Congressman Hurley state that notwithstanding the action of the Police Commissioners an extra session of the Legislature will be called and a new election law passed. Mr. Brookfield says that Governor Black is sure of renomination.

"A prominent up state Republican organization man informed me the other day," said Brookfield, "that the republican delegates from his part of the state would vote for Black for Governor at the convention if he did not get a vote from New York County. He will, however, receive the fourteen or more votes of the Brookfield Republicans of new York County, which, according to Mr. Brookfield, will give him a very good nucleus to work on. I believe, however," said Brookfield, "that the Governor will be unanimously renominated. The machine will not dare turn him down, for if it did there would be another Folger campaign."

Speaking of chairman Quigg Brookfield said, "Despite all the opposition to him Quigg's vanity is so great that he will not let go. He is now referring to the Republican party in New York as 'my' organization and to its members as 'my' boys. Of course this is pleasing to Superintendent of Insurance Lou Payn and his other dear friends up the state. At the convention, where Quigg was elected recently, I do not believe there was a score of the delegates in favor of him, but so great was their fear of Senator Platt that they made no protest. There never has been an instance where the power or patronage was so marked, for it was generally believed, and with good reason, that Senator Platt has absolute control of the federal patronage of New York state. The independents now, however, have no ground upon which to make a protest. They secured the primary law that they wanted and they were given a fair vote and were defeated, but it must be remembered that at least two-thirds of the Republican vote in New York was not enrolled. The question that ought to interest the machine is how will those two-thirds vote next November. In my judgment, if the Democrats nominated a man like Roswell P. Flower for Governor the jig would be up for the Republicans, but Chairman Danforth the other day told a friend of mine that New York City will not get a place on the Democratic State ticket and that Tammany Hall would not be allowed to even breathe on it. The situation is not a pleasant one for the independent to contemplate, feeling as he must that the New York City Republican machine has made a deal with Tammany Hall and which ever side wins the machinists will divide things up among themselves.